Table Of ContentDOT/FAA/AR-11/18 Freighter Airplane
Cargo Fire Risk Model
Air Traffic Organization
NextGen & Operations Planning
Office of Research and
Technology Development
Washington, DC 20591
September 2011
Final Report
This document is available to the U.S. public
through the National Technical Information
Services (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia 22161.
This document is also available from the
Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes
Technical Center at actlibrary.tc.faa.gov.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
NOTICE
This research was commissioned by the Federal Aviation Administration
and Transport Canada by means of their respective Memorandums of
Cooperation regarding Civil Aviation Research and Development with the
Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom. This activity has been
carried out in cooperation between the Federal Aviation Administration,
Transport Canada, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority under the auspices
of the International Cabin Safety Research Technical Group whose goal is
to enhance the effectiveness and timeliness of cabin safety research.
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S.
Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The
United States Government assumes no liability for the contents or use
thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products or
manufacturers. Trade or manufacturer's names appear herein solely
because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. The
findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do
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does not constitute FAA policy. Consult the FAA sponsoring organization
listed on the Technical Documentation page as to its use.
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Technical Report Documentation Page
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
DOT/FAA/AR-11/18
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date
FREIGHTER AIRPLANE CARGO FIRE RISK MODEL September 2011
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.
RGW Cherry & Associates Limited
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
RGW Cherry & Associates Limited
The Lord Wake Suite
The Priory, High Street
Ware, Hertfordshire
SG12 9AL
United Kingdom
11. Contract or Grant No.
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered
U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report
Federal Aviation Administration
Air Traffic Organization NextGen & Operations Planning
Office of Research and Technology Development
Washington, DC 20591
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
ADG-200
15. Supplementary Notes
Jointly funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Canada. The Federal Aviation Administration Airport and
Aircraft Safety R&D Division Technical Monitor was Richard Hill.
16. Abstract
Following the Boeing 747 freighter airplane accident on September 3, 2010, at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab
Emirates, the Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Canada, and the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority initiated a
study to assess the magnitude of the potential threat to freighter airplanes from onboard cargo fires. As part of this study, a risk
model was developed to assess the likely number of U.S.-registered freighter fire accidents through the year 2020 and the average
annual cost due to their occurrence. The study focused on the potential fire threat from the bulk shipment of lithium batteries
(primary and secondary) because they were likely contributors to two of the freighter fire accidents that occurred on U.S.-
registered airplanes. For this reason, the risk model considered the potential threat from lithium batteries separately from other
cargo.
This report summarizes the risk model, explains the data and algorithms used, and explains how the model may be used.
Subsequent phases of this study will address cost benefit ratios for various mitigation strategies.
17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement
This document is available to the U.S. public through the
Cargo fire, Risk model, Lithium battery, Accident characteristics,
National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield,
Airplane damage
Virginia 22161. This document is also available from the
Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical
Center at actlibrary.tc.faa.gov.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price
Unclassified Unclassified 37
Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ix
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. RISK MODEL 1
3. FREIGHTER CARGO FIRE ACCIDENTS 2
4. FREIGHTER CARGO FIRE ACCIDENT RATES 5
4.1 Revenue Ton-Miles 5
4.1.1 Total RTM 1958 Through 2010 5
4.1.2 Division of RTM—Lithium Battery and Other Cargo 7
4.2 Accident Rates, Accident Rate Distributions, and Number of Accidents 10
5. ACCIDENT COSTS 13
5.1 Accident Characteristics 14
5.1.1 Probability of Controlled or Uncontrolled Accidents 14
5.1.2 Probability of an Accident Resulting in Collateral Damage 16
5.1.3 Assessment of Accident Characteristics 16
5.2 Crew Injuries 17
5.2.1 Proportion of the Crew Sustaining Fatal, Serious, and
Minor/No Injuries 17
5.2.2 The Number of Crew Onboard 17
5.2.3 The Monetary Value Associated With Injuries 19
5.3 Airplane Damage 20
5.3.1 Airplane Value 20
5.3.2 The Monetary Value Associated With Airplane Damage 21
5.4 Cargo Damage 21
5.5 Collateral Damage 22
5.6 Total Damage Cost 23
iii
6. CONCLUSIONS 25
7. REFERENCES 25
APPENDIX A—TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS 25.857 CARGO
COMPARTMENT CLASSIFICATION
iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1 Philadelphia Accident Switch 5
2 Assessment of the Annual Number of RTM Carried in Non-Class C Cargo
Compartments per Annum for the U.S.-Registered Freighter Fleet—
1958 Through 2010 6
3 Estimated Annual Number of Secondary Lithium Battery Cells
Produced Worldwide 7
4 Assessment of the Annual Number of RTM Carried in Non-Class C Cargo
Compartments per Annum for the U.S.-Registered Freighter Fleet—
1958 Through 2020 10
5 χ2 Distribution Switch 11
6 Predicted Number of U.S.-Registered Freighter Airplane Cargo Fire Accidents
Through 2020 12
7 Confidence Range Switch 12
8 Predicted Average and 95 Percentile Range of the Number of Cargo Fire
Accidents Through 2020 13
9 Cumulative Probability Distribution of the Probability That an Accident
is Controlled 15
10 Example Determination of the Probability of an Accident Being Controlled 15
11 Weibull Distribution for Number of Crew in Each Weight Category 18
12 Relationship Between the 2010 List Price and the MTOW 21
13 Probability Distribution of the Monetary Value of Collateral Damage 23
14 Confidence Range in the Predicted Average Annual Accident Cost 24
15 Confidence Range in Annual Prediction of Average Accident Cost 24
16 Accident Cost Elements 25
v
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Airplane Types in the 2010 U.S.-Registered Freighter Fleet 2
2 The RTM (2010) in Non-Class C Cargo Compartments by Airplane Type—
All Cargo 7
3 The RTM in Non-Class C Compartments by Airplane Type—Battery and
Non-Battery Cargo for 2010 8
4 Assessed Cumulative RTM in Non-Class C Compartments for the U.S.-Registered
Freighter Fleet Through 2010—Battery and Non-Battery 9
5 Assessed Annual RTM in Non-Class C Cargo Compartments for the U.S.-Registered
Freighter Fleet 2011 Through 2020—Battery and Non-Battery 9
6 Division of Fire-Related Accidents to U.S. Freighter Airplanes Over the Period
1958 Through 2010—Controlled vs Uncontrolled 14
7 Categorization of Accidents With Collateral or No Collateral Damage 16
8 Data Used to Determine Primary Damage for the Uncontrolled With No Collateral
Damage Data Set (Example Only) 17
9 Airplane Weight Categories 18
10 Airplane Weight Categories by Airplane Type 19
11 Monetary Value of Injuries 19
12 Average Cargo Value per Flight 22
13 Monetary Value Used in the Assessment of Collateral Damage 22
vi
LIST OF ACRONYMS
CAA Civil Aviation Authority
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CSRTG Cabin Safety Research Technical Group
DXB Dubai International Airport
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FedEx Federal Express
MAIS Maximum abbreviated injury scale
MTOW Maximum takeoff weight
NTSB National Transportation Safety Board (USA)
RTM Revenue ton-miles
UAE United Arab Emirates
UK United Kingdom
UPS United Parcel Service
USD United States Dollars
vii/viii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Following the Boeing 747 freighter airplane accident on September 3, 2010, at Dubai
International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, the Federal Aviation Administration,
Transport Canada, and the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority initiated a study to assess
the magnitude of the potential threat to freighter airplanes from onboard cargo fires.
As part of this study, a risk model was developed to assess the likely number of U.S.-registered
freighter fire accidents through the year 2020 and the average annual cost due to their
occurrence.
Five cargo fire accidents to U.S.-registered freighter airplanes were identified from the Cabin
Safety Research Technical Group Accident Database over the period 1958 through 2010. These
accidents were used as a basis for the determination of accident occurrence rates used by the risk
model.
Particular attention was directed toward the potential fire threat from the bulk shipment of
lithium batteries (primary and secondary), since it was considered that they likely contributed to
two of the freighter fire accidents that occurred on U.S.-registered airplanes. For this reason, the
risk model considered the potential threat from lithium batteries (primary and secondary) and
other cargo separately.
This report supplements the risk model, which is constructed in Microsoft® Excel®. The report
is structured to explain the data used by the risk model, its algorithms, and the way in which the
model may be used.
Subsequent phases of this study will develop a model to predict likely cost benefit ratios for
various mitigation strategies identified by the FAA and develop a risk and cost benefit model
appropriate to the Canadian fleet.
ix/x
1. INTRODUCTION.
Following the Boeing 747 freighter airplane accident on September 3, 2010, at Dubai
International Airport in the United Arab Emirates1, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
and Transport Canada initiated a study to assess the magnitude of the potential threat to freighter
airplanes from onboard cargo fires.
The FAA, Transport Canada, and the United Kingdom (UK) Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as
part of this study, developed a risk model to assess the likely number of U.S.-registered freighter
fire accidents through the year 2020 and the average annual cost due to their occurrence.
Particular attention was directed toward the potential fire threat from the bulk shipment of
lithium batteries (primary and secondary), since it was considered that they likely contributed to
two of the freighter fire accidents that occurred on U.S.-registered airplanes. For this reason, the
risk model considered the potential threat from primary lithium batteries, secondary lithium
batteries, and other cargo separately.
This report is structured to explain the data2 used by the risk model, its algorithms, and the way
in which the risk model may be used.
Subsequent phases of this study will address the fire risk to the Canadian fleet and assess likely
cost benefit ratios for various mitigation strategies.
2. RISK MODEL.
The risk model is based on the Monte Carlo simulation methodology, which uses statistical
distributions derived from data on in-service airplanes and accidents.
In a Monte Carlo simulation, variables are randomly chosen based on their probability of
occurrence. The variables are then combined to determine the required output—in this case, the
number of U.S.-registered freighter cargo fire accidents likely to occur during the foreseeable
future and the annual cost of such accidents.
The risk model was developed to allow user selection of certain criteria via the risk model
control panel. For example, the user can select whether the risk model should consider the
Philadelphia accident to be “Battery Related” or “Non-Battery Related.” The user is also able to
select whether the χ2 or the modified χ2 distribution is used by the risk model and the confidence
range displayed for the prediction of the future number of accidents.
By running the risk model many thousands of times, a distribution of the predicted number of
accidents and the resultant annual cost can be generated.
1See accident reference 20100903A in section 3 of this report.
2It should be noted that the number of significant figures contained within any data presented in this report is not
indicative of the accuracy of the data. The number of figures contained within the data sets used are retained for
ease of cross reference and to prevent rounding errors.
1
Description:LIST OF TABLES. Table. Page. 1. Airplane Types in the 2010 U.S.-Registered
Freighter Fleet. 2. 2. The RTM (2010) in Non-Class C Cargo Compartments by
